UPA to restart dialogue with Left on disinvestment

Exchange on the contentious issue is expected to restart after the Winter Session ends on December 20, reports Sutirtho Patranobis.

The UPA is keen to resume dialogue with the Left parties on the issue of disinvesting public sector units (PSUs).

Left party sources said that Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, unofficially approached senior leaders in the CPIM on Tuesday in the Parliament to begin discussions on the issue. Exchange on the contentious issue is expected to restart after the Winter Session ends on December 20.

The government's disinvestment policy had been shelved in July after DMK had opposed the disinvestment of Neyveli Lignite. At that time, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had persuaded the Government to put on hold its disinvestment programme.

On Wednesday, CPIM's Basudeb Acharia said that though the disinvestment process had been put on hold, the government was yet to categorically deny that profit-making PSUs would not be disinvested.

In July, both The CPIM and trade unions had welcomed the move to put on hold disinvestment and had attributed it to the protest of the employees of Neyveli Lignite and NALCO.

"We congratulate the employees of the two public sector undertakings for their firm struggle against disinvestment," CPI (M) general secretary, Prakash Karat, had said, adding that the Party appreciated the stand taken by Karunanidhi in defence of the public sector.

The Centre of Trade Unions (CITU) too had appreciated the effort of the workers of NALCO and the people of Orissa who had earlier put up a similar fight against disinvesment. The resumption of dialogue between the UPA and the Left is sure to ignite the controversy again.